Rajya Sabha passes bill with stringent provisions to curb film piracy

"The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually because of piracy," Anurag Thakur said, responding to a brief debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill which has provisions for up to three-year jail term and a fine of up to five per cent of the production cost of a film for persons making pirated copies of movies.

The bill also has provisions to introduce three age-based certifications under the 'UA' category, namely 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+', and to empower the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to sanction a film with a separate certificate for its exhibition on television or other media.

"The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually because of piracy," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, responding to a brief debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha.

The opposition staged a walkout over its demand for a discussion on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur when the bill was taken up for discussion.

Thakur said, "The bill has been brought to stop the loss of Rs 20,000 crore which occurs due to piracy. The legislation also takes care of the long-standing demand of the film industry."

He said the certificates issued by the Central Board for Film Certification which are now valid for only 10 years will be valid perpetually after the bill becomes the law.

The bill also has provisions to allow for a change of category of a film which has received either 'A' or 'S' certificate to be converted to 'UA' certification after making suitable alterations to allow it to be broadcasted on television.

In a bid to curb film piracy, the bill seeks to introduce new sections in the Cinematograph Act with provisions to prohibit unauthorised recording of films (section 6AA) and their exhibition (section 6AB).

The stringent new provision 6AA in the bill also prohibits recording of a film or any part thereof with the sole purpose of using the recording in the same device.

"Film piracy is like cancer and this bill will try to root it out," Thakur said.

Thakur said the film industry has a soft power and the government will take steps to promote it further by providing all the required facilities.

Now Indian content is watched across the globe - from Russia, the US and China to the Middle East countries - he said.

"India being a country of storytellers, we have all the ingredients to become the content hub of the world. India should emerge as the content hub of the world," he said.

In some regions, especially in the south, the use of technology by the industry has expanded.

"Now post-production work of big films is done in India. AVGC sector is growing," he said, adding, "Overall, we should look at the film industry as an opportunity."

To promote the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector, the government will soon open institutes to skill people.

Replying to a member's query on the functioning of CBFC, Thakur said it is an autonomous body and after this bill, the government would not have any revision power.

"We want it to remain autonomous," he said. Thakur added that for any revision of the decision, all CBFC five members in the panel would be new.

Thakur said India has the second oldest film industry and is the largest film producer.

Replying to a concern raised by a member over unequal distribution of money between actors and other workers, the minister said it should be left to the industry to deal with the issue.

"Let's leave a few things for the industry. Let's not restrict it...," he said.

Taking part in the discussion on the bill, Prashanta Nanda (BJD), Dhanajay Bhimrao Mahadik (BJP), Pabitra Margherita (BJP), S Niranjan Reddy (YSRCP), Sonal Mansingh (BJP), Radha Mohan Das Agrawal (BJP), M Thambidurai (AIADMK) and Ashok Bajpai (BJP) supported the proposed legislation.

Kavita Patidar, Chandraprabha, Ajay Paratp Singh, GVL Narasimha Rao and Baburam Nishad of the BJP also supported the bill.

BJP MP and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb said he came from the land of legendary music directors and singers Sachin Dev Burman and Rahul Dev Burman as he extended his support to the bill.

G K Vasan of the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) supported the bill and said it will go a very long way in helping the film industry as it protects them from piracy, and unauthorised recording and deals with issues such as simple licensing, lifelong renewals and censorship.

Kanakmedala Ravindra Kumar of the TDP said the Telugu film industry is the second largest in the country and urged the government to take necessary steps to promote it. It is now getting worldwide fame after an Oscar award for the song "Naatu Naatu" from the film "RRR", he said.